Service Types

A service type refers to the metered commodity consumption that a Provider charges a customer for. Examples of service types include electricity, water, and natural gas. Providers may deliver a single service type or multiple and it may vary based on customer. A full list of all the service types and their definitions is below.

Core and Supplemental Service Types

Plug does not support all service types equally. Plug's data model represents resource consumption as meter readings of a commodity. A provider bill, delivered at a regular cadence, is based on the associated meter readings for a billing period. These bills contain details on usage amounts and line item charges. Some of the service types that Arc supports are a very good fit for this data model (e.g. electricity) and we can populate rich usage and charge line items. However, some service types aren't based on meter readings and/or are not delivered at a predictable cadence (e.g. propane for which a large tank is filled irregularly).

Plug categorizes all service types into two classes: Core service types and Supplemental service types. A Core service type has strong data model fit. A Supplemental service type does not.

Plug's aim for Supplemental service types is to provide at least enough data on the total charges related Supplemental service types such that the sum of all the charges across all the service types on the bill equals the total bill amount. This can be used for bill auditing purposes. We don't recommend attempting to leverage detailed meter usage information simply because that information is often not provided by the provider in Supplementary service type bills. Additionally, we prioritize product fixes for issues related to Core service types.

Currently Supported Service Types

Service Type	Classification	Description
Natural Gas	Core	Methane delivered via pipelines into gas meters at homes and businesses.
Electric	Core	Electric power delivered via transmission and distribution lines to homes and businesses.
Lighting	Core	Indicate municipal lighting which is often charged based on bulb type rather than electricity usage. If we find distinct lighting line items on a statement, we create synthetic Lighting meters to make the bill add up properly across service types.
Water	Core	Potable water delivered via pipes to homes and businesses.
Sewer	Core	Waste water being removed from homes and businesses. If we encounter Sewer usage without Water, we clone the Sewage meter to create a synthetic Water meter, including the usages & charges of the original, and then set the service type to Water.
Irrigation	Core	Water transported in larger pipes for commercial purposes which may not be held to the same potability standards.
Steam	Core	Hot water vapor delivered via pipes, typically used for tasks such as heating, sterilization, and cooking.
District Heat	Core	Also known as District Cooling. Centralized air heating system that generates heat at a central location and distributes it through a network of pipes to multiple buildings or units within a specific area. Note that Arcadia currently maps “District Cooling” bills to this District Heating service type for simplicity.
Chilled Water	Core	Water that has been cooled to a lower temperature at a central location for use in air conditioning and cooling systems.
Fuel Oil	Supplemental	Fuels, including gases and oils, except propane which has its own service type, that are delivered on occasion to fill reserve tanks on a property.
Propane	Supplemental	Sub-type of Fuel Oil, a combustible gas fuel.
Sanitation	Supplemental	Bulk waste removal from dumpsters and bins, typically measured in tonnage (colloquially referred to as ‘waste’).
Internet	Supplemental	Access to the world-wide web.
Television	Supplemental	Cable television access.
Landline Phone	Supplemental	Phone service.
Telecom	Supplemental	Deprecated service type that was previously used to categorize all Internet, Television, and Landline Phone service.
Other Service Type	Supplemental	Catch-all for any other types of service that is most often used for maintenance performed in support of some other "supported" service eg. equipment rentals, work orders on a service, water heater rentals on Natural Gas accounts, or underground power lines in support of Electric accounts.